RichardLOZ

Jeanie Agree with you 100%. I am also getting between 40 - 50 on the 10 oz and 80 + on the 16 oz. It just frustrates me to no end when people out selling are telling people that the 10 oz will give you "at least 80 hours". Just goes to show the number of people who do not test their products. I have been fed this burn time by many different people at various markets. Ahh such is life. At least people are not going to come back to me saying that they did not get the states burn time Richard

Thats my whole point Minx. We make mainly apothecary jars 10 oz which I single wick and I know that my burn time will range from about 42 up to about 51 hours in total across all of my scents if burned as recommended. I go to other markets and talk to people as you do, and as I pick up an apothecary jar of the same size as mine (usually double wicked) I get told that the burn time is 80 - 100 hours + depedning on the seller. I just politely smile, put it down and walk away. If I didnt it could get quite ugly and it is not somewhere I want to go.....LOL

Moonshine Thanks for the reply. Makes sense, smaller tin, less wax, smaller wick, lower ROC, roughly similar burn time. I get about the same in the 4 oz tin, which we used to make 3 years or so ago. Just wanted to go up a little in size to the 6 oz with the slightly larger diameter, while also appealing to the customers as better value due to the perceived size difference. Cheers Richard

This drives me insane! I just poured some testers in 6 oz tins. C3, 8% FO, CDN 16 Tin is 2.75" diameter and 1.57" deep Tin holds approximately 3.8 oz wax On the suppliers site it states 35 hour burn time On a google search EVERY single person making these tins (in Australia) states 35 hours My testing is going to show closer to about 24 - 26 hours (not finished yet) Am I crazy or are all of these other people not testing their products and just taking the suppliers burn time estimate as gospel? Somebody please correct me if I am wrong, however my burn is going well. Nice flame, FMP by 2nd burn, and within 90 minutes or so for each burn after that. Each burn has been at 3 hours. HT is good for the size candle that it is. Sometime I just want to slap people, but I am more than happy to be told that it is something that I am doing wrong and that this particular container will easily and always burn for 35 hours + Richard

Don't complain! Here in Australia Status jars are all the rage. Everyone uses them. One of our local suppliers is starting to look as though that is the only jar they are going to continue to carry. I look at the stuff that you guys can get off the shelf and just about cry! What I would do to get some Libby jars that dont cost me $4.50 / jar and ANOTHER $4 odd for the damn lid!!!!! Votive display boxes are another item. Yeah I just got 50 of them and 100 other small gift type boxes for votives, delivered all the way from Canada. Took 9 weeks to get here and the shipping was more than the combined cost of the boxes. Why do I do it? Because we take great pride in our presentation and packaging. Can we pass the cost on? Sometimes. Will I keep on doing it? Damn right I will.....LOL Such is life living with only 20 million people I guess............ /RANTOFF Richard

Minx I would be very careful of paying too much attention to some of the people on FB. This sums it up exactly for a large % of those on FB I'm afraid. I read some of the FB pages and very occasionally post and when I do quite often get jumped on for my comments. I don't have too much time I am afraid for people who think they have all of the answers and do not like to listen to other people opinions. This is what I love about this forum, as people are helpful providing that you give enough information for them to work with to assist you. Richard

Yep I hear you also. The movement is well and truly alive on FB and they seem to be breeding like fleas I got into a wonderful argument a week or so ago in regards to testing which was quite interesting as you could well imagine. There were a few people who were sensible and appreciated the advice and seem to be taking it, but the same loud know it all crowd piped up as usual, telling us all that there is more than one way to skin the cat so to speak. I dont know whether I find it amusing or sad now, but I cant help myself from throwing in the odd comment.............LOL Richard

Like most things, I believe that this is just another item that we may well need to source overseas. At this rate, may as well just up and move the business to the US. At least shipping would be somewhat cheaper Richard

I have spoken or emailed with Ginger from Precision Wicking in regards to getting some CDN (Stabilo KST) wicks sent across. If I remember the quote off the top of my head is worked out at approximately $750 USD for 5000 wicks in 5 sizes of 1000 each + shipping. It was not actually that much of a saving compared with buying locally. I guess if you order FO from the US you could have them ship wicks at the sdame time, if the particular supplier stocks the wicks you are after. Richard

That have never actually been in stock as far as I can recall. In any case the ECO which are on their site are spooled and not primed which would be a total PITA for jar candles. Their CDN wicks are not good either. I have purchased when needed in emergency, however at least 50% pull out of the tab when placing into the jars. I got pretty sick and tired of burning myself with hot glue Richard

Thought I would get some pics up now that my camera battery has finally charged. Not happy with these candles at all I have to say. Country Clothesline NG - 6%, C3, CDN 24 in both 12 & 16 oz jars Coco mango NG - 6%, C3, CDN 22 in both 12 & 16 oz jars. Both of these oils burn excellent with my original 464 / palm blend and the same wicks and FO%. No other additives in these at all. Notice the slight sooting on the tops of the jars. This was worse however I did wipe between burns. These have all be burnt so far for 44 hours. BTW the wicks are actually centered, just the angle of the photo The CC "might" catch up in the 16 oz, however I dont think that the coc mango has any chance. Going up to a CDN 24 or CDN 26 is most likely going to give me greater soot issues, even if it does fix the burn. Oh well back to the drawing board now from here I guess Richard

Hey Stella I am somewhat hesitant to wick up considering that I am already getting some sooting on the top of the jar. I am however still not getting a FMP at 3/4 of the burn. Hmm interesting concept. Perhaps the C3 might require double wicking in my apothecary jars, guess something else to test. The blend of 464 / palm that I usually use has always given me a FMP from about burn 2 or 3 in every oil I use except for Frangipani which I cannot get to burn nicely in a 4" jar at all. I might try to blend some palm with the C3 for another test, and will also try double wicking (ahhhhhhhhhh), perhaps starting with CDN 10 / 12 to see how that goes. I guess while I am testing I still have my usual blend to keep me going, but you know how it is when a supplier is a little closer and you can see a few dollars in savings. Such is life - onwards and upwards back to the lab to pour some further testers Richard

Well I have finally got around to trying the C3. Love the way the wax looks, nice smooth tops, minimal wet spots and so far no frosting. The burn test is however another matter. Testing 2 scents in 2 jars that I have been doing for quite a while with my usual 464 / palm combo and that I know burns really well, I did not have so much luck with the C3. Using a 12 oz, 4" apothecary jar and a 16 oz, 4" apothecary jar the pour went really well. I was using a CDN 22 in one scent and a CDN 24 in the other which are my usual wicks in those scents and 464 / palm. First burn I achieved FMP, with quite a large flame. Ok so might need to wick down based on that, however no decisions to be made until much further into the testing. Now some 36 hours later, the burn is not going so well on either scent. Reasonably large shrooms, maybe 1/4" hang on some areas of the jar, frosty looking after cooling in some areas, just altogether not nice at all and not something I would be happy with. HT was however pretty good, don't know if better than my usual combo, but was definitely acceptable though. The top of the jar also seemed to me to be quite hot and flame remained reasonably large throughout the burn. Some sooting on tops of jars, which I have never had with this wick / oil / jar combo in 464 / palm. Considering no FMP after the 1st burn and the fact that the jars were quite hot, with a large flame, it seems that going to a smaller wick size goes against what this candle needs, however that is the next step I will be taking. Looking to drop the 22 down to both a CDN 20 and CDN 18 for testing purposes and the CDN 24 down to a CDN 22 & CDN 20 for that scent. Stranger things have happened. I did have high hopes for this wax based on my reading and then on my pour, but alas if I cannot get a nice burn with a single wick in my 4" jar, then I guess it will be back to my 464 / palm combo which did work very well, however I am trying to consolidate the amount of raw material I have on hand at any one time, so working with 1 wax rather than 2 did make sense, however not at the risk of producing product I am not happy with. For those who use C3, particularly in the 4" diameter jars, your advice will be appreciated and well received. Do not go down the double wick path as I am not going to go there. I am lazy and actually do not like multiple wicks unless the diameter is huge, so am definitely going to be staying with a single wicked system. If that means going back to my usual wax blend, then so be it. My ears and mind are open and I am listening I will try to get some pics, when my damn camera battery is charged. Never charged when you need it! Cheers Richard

Candle supply have been around for quite a while, however not in the small wholesale supplier market. They have typically supplied very large customers as well as producing their own range of candles, the brand which escapes me right now. I have had a number of conversations from them and have purchased jars, both being good experiences. I will try the wax and see how it compares to my current blend and then make some decisions, with one of the most critical being continuity of supply..... Richard

Hey there. I have bought glassware from them before, and also spoke to them regarding the Naturewax. Worth a shot I guess, perhaps 5 kg each of C1 & C3 and see how they go. Will be easier then buying 2 waxes to blend from 2 different suppliers. Anything to make life easy is good. Don't even get me started on that FB page, as I will get crazy.....LOL Richard

Bart Yes it is and I know where you are going to get yours from I am also thinking of getting a sample of the C3 & possibly the C1 also to test. I am pretty happy with my 464 / palm combo, but like many have found there are a number of oils that it just does not work well in, and I think about the last 30 or so samples have all been in that category I have a credit owning to me from the supplier so may use it to get the samples, as they dont have my jars right now. Their glassware is very well priced and is excellent quality as well. I have used their apothecary jars, which are a little larger than all the other suppliers have, in height not diameter, so they still work well for me, although I have to fill with about an extra 50 - 60 grams of wax, however the cheaper price of the jar offsets this to a large degree. I have been very impressed with the quality of the jars I have purchased from them, and providing they can assure me of supply, may in fact change to them as my preferred supplier. Cheers Richard

So how many clams does this make? Looking at your numbers you are just making 1 x 16 oz clamshell. You have adjusted the number at the top for quantity, however you have not done the same for the clamshells down the bottom. You have the general idea, however you have to ensure that all of the numbers make sense. For costing etc, it is very much easier to work in grams than oz. For example I know that my clams weigh approximately 75 grams, which is about 3 oz or thereabouts. Using 1 lb wax you would get 5 clams possibly. See pic below...... Richard

The $100 is the cost of the wax (I include shipping in this cost), although you could have the shipping lower in the spreadsheet as a separate line item. The 25000 is the quantity you receive for the cost, in this case 25000 grams or 25 kg The $0.00 is cost per unit, in this case cost / gram, which at 2 decimal places is too small to show. The 80 is the amount you are using for this particular product, in this case 80 grams. The $0.32 is the total cost of this item for the amount used, it using 80 grams of wax @ $100 / 25 kg will cost you $0.32 cents. Does that help a little? Cheers Richard

Definitely in agree with everyone else. Pic 3 is great, the others are ok. Well done

It does sound as though it is a little smaller, however even taking that into account I would still be expecting a longer burn time than 24 hours in total. As I said though, perhaps someone who actually does double wick can comment further in regards to the burn time thing.

I am also curious. I was searching for this video some time ago and was not able to find it, so great that someone has reposted it again. Let us know how you go with your experiment, as I am also very curious to try this, although it would be with feather palm which should make it even more challenging. Cheers Richard

1. Average batch size - 9 lbs 2. Average number of fragrances on hand at any one time - approx 100 3. What is your typical fragrance oil purchase quantity - per oil? - 1 - 2 lb / scent 4. What is your typical order quantity for wax? - 4 - 10 cases 5. What is your typical order quantity for glass? - 4 - 10 cases 6. How long to do you keep wax (assuming you don't change) before you no longer use it? - have never had it around long enough to consider 7. What do you consider the shelf life of fragrance oil? - 1 - 2 years (cool dark storage) 8. Is the shelf life of FO a factor in determining the quantity of oil you purchase? - no

To me the burn time seems way too short for this jar. I also use apothecary jars, which are 4" diameter once you get down past the top lip. I only single wick but typically get between 40 - 50 hours burn from a jar. having said that, it appears that my jars may in fact be a little larger, although I would not have thought there would be too much difference between one apothecary jar and another of approximately the same size. Mine when filling hold about 10 oz in total. I do also get full MP although sometimes not until the 3rd / 4th burn. I usually get between 10 & 12 4 hour burns. From the pics it seems as though you did get a nice burn, no soot and jar not too hot, although I would be a little concerned regarding the quite short burn time. Someone who double wicks may be able to comment further, as that is obviously going to make a difference over my single wicking. Cheers Richard

1) Just a plain old ice candle 2) These are old food tins etc that we consume and then grubby ourselves. Loads of work in them though so they can be a right PITA when we get orders for 20 or 30 of them at a time. Richard

The large tarts are sold as is, shrink wrapped and labeled at $2 / each. The small tarts are sold individually at $1 /each or 20 in a tin tie bag for $15.00. The mini cini's, gingerbread, sugar cookie men and prim button things in the cello bags are sold per bag for $6.50. Each bag contains 6 tarts. We usually just keep the large shrink wrapped tarts for wholesale to the stores, but being an open home we had pretty much everything out and available for sale. Cheers Richard